Absinthe: Difference between revisions

In 1905, it was reported that [[Jean Lanfray]], a Swiss farmer, murdered his family and attempted to take his own life after drinking absinthe. The fact that Lanfray was an [[alcoholic]] who had consumed considerable quantities of wine and brandy prior to drinking two glasses of absinthe was conveniently overlooked or ignored, therefore placing the blame for the murders solely on absinthe.<ref>[[Barnaby Conrad III|Conrad III, Barnaby]]; (1988). ''Absinthe History in a Bottle''. Chronicle books. ISBN 0-8118-1650-8 Pg. 1–4</ref> The Lanfray murders were the tipping point in this hotly debated topic, and a subsequent petition to ban absinthe in Switzerland collected more than 82,000 signatures. A [[Swiss referendums, 1908|referendum]] was subsequently held on banning the drink on 5 July 1908.<ref name=NS>[[Dieter Nohlen|Nohlen, D]] & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1906 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7</ref> After it was approved by voters,<ref name=NS/> the prohibition of absinthe was then written into the [[Swiss Federal Constitution|Swiss constitution]].